David L. Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.

Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tagline that "It's about your life and your money," and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada, as well as on XM and Sirius satellite radio. He has written numerous books. His books and broadcasts often feature a Christian perspective that reflects Ramsey's own religious beliefs. Ramsey was named the 2009 Marconi Award winner for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year.

Ramsey's current company, The Lampo Group, is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and oversees three divisions geared toward financial counseling.

Ramsey has been featured on many media outlets including The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, and The Early Show on CBS. He has also recorded a pilot and six episodes of a reality show named The Dave Ramsey Project for CBS; however, the Network decided not to air the program. He is the host of The Dave Ramsey Show at 8 p.m. ET and repeated weekdays on the Fox Business Network. The Fox Business Network canceled the show in June, 2010. Fox Business Network Names Radio Show Personality Dave Ramsey As Primetime Host

Ramsey was born and raised in Antioch, Tennessee. He was a 1982 graduate of the College of Business Administration at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. At the age of 26, through his brokerage firm, Ramsey Investments, Inc., he built a rental real estate portfolio worth more than $4 million and became one of Tennessee's youngest brokers to be admitted to the Graduate Realtors Institute.

Ramsey's success soon came to an end as the Tax Reform Act of 1986 began to have a negative impact on the real estate business. One of Ramsey's largest creditors was sold to a larger bank, which began to take a harder look at Ramsey's borrowing habits. The bank demanded he pay $1.2 million worth of short-term notes within 90 days, forcing him to file for bankruptcy relief.

Ramsey began counseling couples at his local church. Soon after offering private counseling services, Ramsey began attending every workshop and seminar on consumer financial problems that he could find. He developed a simple set of lessons and materials based partially on his own experience and on works and teachings by Larry Burkett and Ron Blue. Focus on the Family (Dr. James Dobson) - Broadcast Archives After many requests from his clients, in 1992 wrote his first book Financial Peace.

Ramsey has been married to his wife, Sharon, for 25 years; they have three children: Denise; Rachel; and Daniel. The family resides in Franklin.

Ramsey started his radio show, currently known as The Dave Ramsey Show, in 1992 under the title of The Money Game. The radio show began on June 15, 1992. Originally a locally based show, it is now syndicated across the country. In 2007, the Fox Business Network launched a television show under the same title. Both shows are on air Monday through Friday. The Fox Business Network canceled the show in June, 2010.

The Lampo Group, Inc.

Ramsey founded his company, the Lampo Group, in 1988, initially helping people one-on-one who were struggling with financial issues. In 1994 he hired Russ Carroll, Ramsey's lead financial counselor, and together they began teaching the first Financial Peace University classes on overhead projectors. Between 1999 and 2004, The Lampo Group grew from 18 to 105 team members. There are currently almost 300 team members.

Ramsey runs his business completely debt-free, an accomplishment he states was critical to the success of his company.

Financial Peace University

Ramsey is also the creator of Financial Peace University, a biblically based 13-week video training series for adults, and a companion series targeted at teenagers that has been offered in schools across the nation. Some topics covered in the series are cash flow planning, investing, saving, credit, retirement, and giving.

Share It!

"Share It!" is a foundation created by Dave and Sharon Ramsey for the purpose of working with other non-profit organizations such as housing initiatives, work to success projects, domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol recovery programs, crisis pregnancy centers, youth outreaches, and high schools to help others become financially literate.

The Nashville Scene has reported that Ramsey occasionally receives e-mails and letters containing the Bible verse: "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24 KJV) Ramsey interprets such communications to be a rebuke of his own wealth and a call for poverty, and dismisses these letters as “doctrinal nitpicking.” Fans of Ramsey point out that some of the greatest characters in the Bible were wealthy such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Josiah, Job, and many others.

In 2004, Ramsey's column was dropped from The Tennessean and four other newspapers owned by Gannett, Co. after it was discovered that the identities of those seeking help were duplicated or falsified in several of his columns. Ramsey attributed the duplications to a low-level employee. Ramsey offered refunds to the newspapers affected by the error.